Life Happens In Between
by wannabespecial19
Summary: Sakura knew she loved Sasuke more than anything in the world, and that's why she couldn't tell him about her feelings. She couldn't afford to risk the relationship they had, one of friendship & reliance, for something he was too stubborn to believe in.
1. Chapter 1

** Life Happens In Between**

**DISCLAIMER: I don not own Naruto or any of the characters of the Manga. Although i'd love to place my bid if Sasuke were ever to be on an auction.**

**Chapter 1**:** A brave new start**

Sakura was not happy with the way her room looked right now. Well, considering the fact that she'd only had two days to settle into this new 'accomodation', she was probably asking for too much if she wanted the room to look 'perfect'. But that's just how she is. She wouldn't feel comfortable unless she felt at home.

Tenten, tired of the pink haired girl moving furniture (the very few they had) every now and then for the last two days, couldn't help but snort as she watched her run about the room with a pile of clothes in her hand, "You know Sakura, for a girl who's just had to move from one city to another, you seem to be pretty uptight about . . well, stuff."

Although they had known each other for a very short amount of time, Sakura had already found herself admiring the gutsy, kinda manly, and currently smirking brunette who was destined to be her roommate for the year ahead. So she replied cheerily, "And you seem to be totally okay with living under a pile of clothes. Oh come on Tenten! One of us has to be folding clothes and cleaning the mess if you want me to stay alive in this place. And since you have failed to help me for more than two and a half hours, I guess you don't have a problem if I recommend myself for the job."

Tenten's smirk turned into a grin, then she made a devastated face and said graciously, "If you insist, dear maam, I guess I'll have to give up my lifelong dream of being 'the responsible one'!" And both the young girls burst into laughing. As Tenten got up to make some coffee for the two of them in her coffeemaker, Sakura was drawn into thinking about this room, this new roommate, this hostel, and how unreal all these had sounded two monthes ago.

* * *

><p>"MOM!" Haruno Sakura yelled as she practically flew into the living room of their house, panting hard. Haruno Shira almost dropped the plate she was washing at the really loud interruption. "Oh My God Sakura! Do you really want to give me a heart attack?" Sadly, the reprimand couldn't lessen the huge grin playing across her daughter's face. Sakura rushed to where her mother was standing at the kitchen and replied in the same sarcastic tone her mother had just used, "Oh My God Mom, if you really want to have a heart attack, then I suggest you see this." She handed the older lady an envelope.<p>

"A letter? Who's it from?" She asked as she took a seat at the kitchen. But Sakura chose to remain silent and smile mysteriously at her puzzled mother. "The Dean of the Konoha Medical School?" her mother read out loud, more confused, and a little anxious now. "What's the matter honey?" Seeing that her daughter wasn't going to reply, she hurriedly opened the envelope to find out the answer herself. As she read, her eyes went bigger by each line and as she reached the bottom of the letter, her mouth fell open. In a shaky voice, she whispered, "You really got that scholarship to the Medical School in Sound?"

Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer. With a cry of joy, she let out all the bottled up happiness in her heart, feeling like she was going to burst any moment, "YES MOM ! You know at first I also didn't believe it. I mean when Yamato Sensei called me to his office, I was actually thinking that maybe I've flunked pharmacology this time! Remember how I had a fever the night before the exam? Then when I entered his room he was like, 'hey Sakura did you apply for the scholarship under Tsunade sama, in Sound?' And I was like, 'yeah, so?' And he was like, 'well then congratulations, you've been selected'. And I thought he was kidding 'cause I must've flunked pharmacology and he was trying to be sarcastic, but then he showed me the letter and I was like, 'WHAT THE HELL' and then I ran out of his room and read the letter again. I mean, can you believe it Mom? I got a scholarship to study under Tsunade sama, the legend herself! Ofcourse she I'd just be one of the ten students who got the chance but still, that's just too big! And I have to get to Sound in two monthes and settle in the girls hostel they have! I'll be living with fifty other medical students. Isn't it amazing, Mom?"

Too pre-occupied with ranting at the top of her lungs, Sakura had failed to notice the way her mother's expression had changed from happy to confused again and now settled into an anxious frown. As her daughter finally came to stop jumping from the excitement, Shira asked her nervously, "Now honey, you are not _really_ planning on taking the scholarship, are you?"

It took Sakura a moment to process the question before she gave out a disbelieving laugh, "what are you asking, Mom? Ofcourse I'm gonna take the scholarship! Wasn't that the point of applying for it?"

This time the look that crossed her mother's face was one of dismay and it made Sakura finally come out of the trance she'd been into since she got the letter.

"Mom, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?" Sakura sat beside her mother.

Shira instantly regretted her reactions when she heard the anxiety in her daughter's voice. She knew how much Sakura cared about her parents and everything she did, she did to make them proud of her. But still she couldn't get herself to be genuinely delihghted right now. So she spoke the truth, as she always does with her daughter, who was also her closest friend.

"No honey. Ofcourse I'm happy that you got the scholarship! I know how hard you worked for it!"

Sakura let out a relieved sigh, which was caught mid way by the next sentence that came out of her mother's mouth.

"But I don't think you should take it."

"What? Why?" Sakura almost stood up in surprise.

''Look, Sakura, baby, you're almost done with medical school. There's only a year and a couple of monthes left. . what's the point of going to a different city to finish the last year? I mean, you're already a very good student and Yamato-san told me last month that you're going to graduate with flying colours and that you're going to make an excellent doctor someday. Why take the trouble of moving so far from us?" Just think about it clearly before you go making a decision, ok?"

Sakura listened to her mother, her heart sinking at each word. Truth is, when she applied for the scholarship, she didn't think she'd actually get it. But now, after having gained it, is when she realizes how much this means to her, how much it had always meant to her. This scholarship was the best way to get closer to her dream, which she'd never shared with anyone but herself.

With a tired sigh, Sakura got up from the chair. First the adrenaline rush and then this confusion was making her head cloudy. She needed to rest, to think.

"Mom, I'm just gonna go to my room for a while." As her mother tried to say something, she added, "I know you said what you said because you care about me. Don't worry. I'll be fine. I just need to rest and think,ok?"

"OK honey. I'll call you when your father comes home and then we'll have dinner together. After all", she said with a proud grin, "you did get a scholarship and we've got to celebrate, right?"

Sakura smiled at her mother before she entered her room, momentarily forgetting about everything her Mom had said a couple of minutes ago. But as she closed the door to her room and sat on her bed, all of it, the excitement, confusion, dismay, came running to her mind. Sakura hid her face into the fluffy pillow and gave out a frustrated sigh.

* * *

><p>Dinner was wonderful. Shira made everything her daughter loved, including a small chocolate cake to celebrate her achievement. Sakura's father, Haruno Kisho, a doctor himself, was absolutely thrilled to hear about his daughter's gain, not to mention incredibly proud. What made him happier was the fact that being a doctor, he knew Lady Tsunade and so had plenty of ideas what it meant to study under her supervision. Needless to say, like Sakura, he'd also failed to realize the other matters that needed to be thought through if Sakura was going to take the scholarship. He was reminded of them after dinner, when Sakura had gotten herself busy with the cake and he was enjoying a glass of wine and Shira decided to discuss about the problem at hand.<p>

"Honey, I know both of you are pretty excited about the whole scholarship thing and I understand that, but Kisho, you can't just ignore the . . . well, other stuff that need some attention."

Sakura instantly knew what her mother was trying to get at, and surprisingly, so did her father. So he wasn't as forgetful as she'd hoped him to be, after all.

"Ofcourse, Shira", he started in a soothing voice, "I know what you're talking about", Sakura could easily hear the ill-suppressed anxiety in his father's voice, "I just. . ." he sighed. "I just didn't want to get into that discussion right now. I wanted tonight to be only about celebration."

Seeing the guilty look that appeared on his wife's face, he quickly added, "but I think you're right. Important matters shouldn't be kept waiting."

Then he looked at his daughter, who was sitting silently across from him, staring at the plate on her lap with a piece of cake in it. Sakura's father couldn't help but smile at her affectionately. This had always been the case with Sakura. Whenever her parents were discussing something that concerned her, she'd just pretend like her attention was anywhere but their voices.

"Sakura, dear, do you mind taking your eyes off from that poor piece of cake and to this old man sitting in front of you?"

It was the chuckle in his voice that made Sakura look up at him with a sheepish smile on her face.

"yes, dad?"

"Have you put any thoughts into the matter yet?"

Sakura took a deep breath. "Well. . . not really. I mean I really want to do this, but. . ." she paused for a bit, "I don't want to worry you two. You know, with the moving and all that. . . besides, bro has already settled down in Suna, and I wouldn't want to leave you guys alone. ." she trailed off.

The trace of sadness in her usually cheerful voice was not lost on her parents. Shira and Kisho both knew what their daughter would think now. Sakura had always been a caring daughter, friend, sister. She was incredibly intelligent at some matters and surprisingly naïve at others. The best quality about her was that she always thought of others before she did about herself, she always put others' happiness and convenience before hers. That was something Kisho was proud of and Shira was worried about. They both knew their daughter was a very responsible person, the most reliable among the ton of her age, but still, they couldn't really digest the thought of her living on her own, in a different city, with totally unknown people. And Sakura wasn't wrong when she said she didn't want to leave them alone. Haruno Kanaye, Sakura's only brother had gone to Suna 5 years ago to study business management. Now he's doing a job there that has a lot of chances for prosper. It's not like Kanaye doesn't want to come home, it's just that he can't lose such a great job, not when experience is rated so high in the market nowadays. He plans to come back to Konoha after a couple of years, after he has all the experience and skills he needs to get a much better job here, or better yet, start his own business.

In the above circumstances, Sakura really had a lot to think before deciding to move to a different city, away from her parents. And so did her parents, who were unwilling to send another the child away from them.

And none of the two parties were selfish enough to think about themselves only.

These were the thoughts that floated across their minds as Sakura and her parents waited for someone to suggest a solution.

"We understand, dear," Kisho finally broke the silence, "that you care about us. But Sakura, we can't deny that this a hell of an opportunity and you've worked quite hard to gain it. So I want you to think very carefully about what you want to do. And whatever you decide, we'll be supportive."

"But Kisho! We can't let her live alone like that in a whole new city! It's not possible! How will she manage?"

Sakura's father couldn't help but smile at his wife's panicked voice. "Just like everyone else", he replied. Then added thoughtfully, "Your mom's right though, Sakura. It's gonna be a lt harder than you probably think. That's why I want you to think about it precisely. Do you want to take that much trouble just for a year of your scholarship? Trust me, it'd take atleast 3 monthes to adjust to a whole new place, new people, new environment. And just when you think you're actually settled, your year would come to an end and it'd be time to come right back. Not to mention the tremendous amount of hard work you'd have to do to maintain the scholarship, you'd have to do all your daily chores as well, without any help from me or your mom. Then there's the question of security. Konoha's a lot more safer than Sound, mind you. Do you really want to go through that, are you strong enough to take care of yourself, all on your own?"

* * *

><p>Did she want this? Was she strong enough? These were the very questions that kept Sakura up till 2 am that night. Despite her mother's protests and worries, her father had insisted she take her own decision, because he trusted she was old enough and wise enough to take the right one.<p>

But instead of the problems Sakura's father had asked her to think about, Sakura's mind kept drifting towards the dreams she'd harbored deep in her heart since a really long time.

A dream of being independent. Of living on her own. Of learning from her own mistakes. Of finding her true self.

Sakura knew she was extremely selfish to think like that, but truth was, sometimes she just felt suffocated by all the affection her parents showered on her. She knew she was being over analytival but truth was that she'd never be able to look out for herself unless she was free of the constant observation of her parents and all other relatives who lived within the same city. She wanted to see the world with her own eyes, she wanted to make an identity. And now she had a chance to do exactly that.

And just like that, Sakura made the bravest, smartest and most wonderful decision of her life.

* * *

><p>It'd taken a month of constant effort in persuasion by Sakura to convince her mother to let her go and another month of inspection and packing by both of her parents to make sure the hostel was nice and Sakura had everything she needed.<p>

Now, after her parents had finally gone back to Konoha,(not without a lot of tears from her mom), here Sakura was, sitting on the balcony of an unknown place that she was still trying to think of as home, drinking coffee with an unknown girl whom she had already grown an admiration for, thinking that life couldn't get any more surprising.

Well. She was just about to find out how wrong she was.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hello! This is my first fanfic and i'm pretty excited about it. I really hope you like it and if you do, please encourage me through reviews! And those who are huge sasusaku freaks like me, don't be disheartened! Sasuke's gonna enter the field right in he next chap, which i intend to get done by next week. Wish me luck!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: chance encounter**

Sasuke was pissed. Really, really pissed.

This was not how things were supposed to be, far from it, infact. You're not supposed to find your room looking like a stable after you've been away for just a week.

Sasuke knew from experience that Naruto was not someone you could trust when it came to cleanliness, or even minimal personal hygiene. That guy could sleep on a pile

of dirty clothes day after day without noticing a difference between that and a bed.

But what Sasuke saw in front of him was . . . he couldn't even find a word for the scene before him. Downright nasty? Spiteful? Nauseating? Ghastly? Maybe he should

check thesaurus?

"What the fuck Dobe?" Sasuke hissed in disgust. No matter how furious he was (living wih Naruto, that occasion wasn't rare), screaming was never preferable to Uchiha

Sasuke.

The room literally looked like a herd of pig was let loose in there. The floor was covered in dirt. Sasuke was sure there'd be footprints where he was standing if he moved,

which he wasn't gonna, since the parts of the floor that were clean-no, less dirty, were wet, with water, beer, soda, and God only knows what else. Half-eaten cups of

Ramen were lying all over the place, bugs peeking out from some of them. Sasuke couldn't even see his bed under all the clothes, books and loose papers piled over it.

The other bed of the room shared the same condition, with Naruto half-lying right on top of it. He yawned as he finally woke up from his slumber and found his best

friend/roommate standing on the door, looking like somebody had just farted into his mouth.

"Hey teme! You're back! How are ya?"

Naruto's cheeky grin could not lessen the fury etched across his best buddy's face even the smallest bit.

"What the hell is wrong with you, asshole?" Sasuke said, contemplating whether or not he should call the dorm superviser and have the dobe thrown out.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto finally took a look around him and realized why Sasuke looked pissed. He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. I guess you're mad about the room."

"You're a genius." The sarcasm hardly veiled the outrage in Sasuke's voice.

"Hey, come on teme. My exams are about to start. Besides, you know me. I'm not really the 'close to godliness' type of person, remember?" He said defensively.

Yes, Sasuke knew that, having lived with the dobe for 4 years and being his friend since high school, he sure as hell knew _that_. But this time Naruto had really outdone

himself. The room looked like a cleaning lady's worst nightmare.

Naruto mistook Sasuke's silence as an acceptance of his excuse and said enthusiastically, "So what if the room's a little dirty? We are _guys,_ we'll survive, eh teme?" Then

he started laughing nervously.

Sasuke would have picked up something from the pile of clothes and gagged his best friend with it, had he not seen a large brown mouse peeking out of the pile. Instead

he just gave Naruto the deadliest glare he could manage. That did it's job. Naruto stopped laughing abruptly and started scratching his head again.

Slowly, cautiously, Sasuke walked into the room, but before he'd taken five steps…

ZPPSSS

A cup of ramen was crushed under his left foot, spilling all over the entrance. Sasuke's favourite white sneakers were now a mild orange. And Naruto's ill-suppressed

laughter only made the whole situation much, much worse.

"NARUTO!" this time the roar escaped from Sasuke's controlled demeanor and shook the hell out of the poor blonde.

"H-hey teme" Naruto tried to make amends, "I'm s-sorry, ok?" Sasuke took a deep breath to calm himself but the disgusting smell of rotten food pushed him over the

edge.

"Dobe, I give you 60 seconds to get the _fuck_ out of here and get the cleaning lady before I tear off your fucking_toungue_ and use it to strangle you to fucking _death_, you get

me?" It was all Sasuke could get through gritted teeth without kicking the dobe on the shin.

Naruto nodded fiercely and stormed out of the room. And then, out of the dorm.

It'd only be suicide to remind Sasuke that the cleaning lady was unavailable on Sundays.

* * *

><p>Sasuke gave a final sweep at the floor of their room and then wiped the sweat out of his brow. After four painful hours of cleaning, moping, resisting puke and cursing<p>

Naruto with all the colorful words he could muster, the room looked somehow neat. Inhabitable, to say the least. The beds were now free of all the dirty clothes, which

now rested inside a big carton on the door for the cleaning lady to pick up the next day. The loose papers turned out to be Naruto's notes from the finance class and

Sasuke took great pleasure in throwing them into the trash, along with all the god forsaken ramen cups- empty or full. It served the dobe right for massacring the room

and screwing with Sasuke's immune system. He'd almost thrown up after finding a dead rat in his desk drawer.

Taking one final look at the room, Sasuke decided his work was done. He put the wiper behind the cupboard and exhaled tiredly. It'd been a really long day. First the 4

hour bus journey from Konoha to Sound, for which he had to wake up at 5 am in the morning, then this whole cleaning job. He so needed a walk right now.

With that thought in mind, Sasuke closed the door to their room, locked it, and set out for a peaceful stroll at the park.

Sasuke was a student of Computer Engeenering at the Sound University of Engineering and Business Administration. To be specific, he was almost done with his course,

just waiting for the final exam of the semester and after that he'd be a certified technician at what he always found interesting-computer programming. Last week was

actually his last vacation before the upcoming exam. Sasuke wanted to see his mother once before the tremendous pressure of studies tackled him. He didn't mind

studying at all, really, unlike most other students, he found his studies as something 'fun' to do. Ofcourse, he needed the occasional breaks and entertainments, but he

never regretted a vacation coming to an end. Naruto wouldn't stop calling him 'bookworm' or 'mr. genius' or many other cheesier names that he invented for his best

friend(although teme was his all time favourite). Yet Sasuke never lessened his concentration in his studies, because firstly, computer programming was not just a subject

he studied, it was his passion, and secondly, being the best at whatever he did had always been a priority to Uchiha Sasuke.

As Sasuke reached the entrance of the large park at the end of the city, the gentle afternoon breeze grazed the sharp spikes of his raven hair and lifted his spirits just a

little. In the last four years, this park had become something special to Sasuke. He never came here with Naruto or any other friends he sometimes hung out with, this

place and this time of the day was entirely his. At the east corner of the park stood a tall Sakura tree, it's long branches hiding a large part of the bright blue afternoon

sky, which was on the verge of turning crimson as dusk came nearer. There was a round platform beneath the huge brown branches, surrounding the wide and heavy

trunk of the magnificent tree. During sunset, the long branches, covered in pinkish leaves and pearl white flowers, created a wonderful contrast with the crimson sky and

presented a serene view.

Sasuke was probably the least poetic human alive, and even he knew that the place was damn beautiful.

Fortunately for him, very few people cared to walk all the way to this part of the park and that's why no one knew of this stunning place. That was another reason why

Sasuke treasured this place so dearly. This was the one place where he could seek peace, and solitude.

Sasuke hopped on the platform and started walking around it. He preferred to sit at the other side of the tree, from where he could have a perfect view of the sunset and

stay hidden by the massive trunk, if anyone happened to come by that place.

Except that someone was already occupying that space now.

_What __the __hell?_Was the only thought that came to his mind, and in the rush of bewilderment, he failed to notice that he'd said it out loud.

The person sitting under the tree, however, didn't fail to notice the angry remark and the one responsible for it, as he jumped up from his sitting position in surprise and

the hood of his sweater came off from his head.

The first thing Sasuke registered was a load of glossy pink hair, and as his eyes slid lower, a pair of emareld green eyes that were regarding him with the same shock he

knew mirrored his. _A __girl_, Sasuke realized. This person reminded him of someone from way back, and it looked like she was thinking the same thing.

After a few seconds of staring at each other in astonishment, with a little annoyance from Sasuke's part and a little alarm from the girl, realization made it's way to both

strangers' minds and they shot out in unision,

"You?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Am i going too slow?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Recollection, re-introduction, and a deal**

There were two types of students in Konoha High School, Active and Inactive. Or maybe you could say Popular and Non-popular. However, there were distinctions in each type itself, as well.

The Active type were of two different varities- one that made life worse for others and the other that made it better. The first ones were the rogue students the institution was ashamed of, while the other group of active people made it proud. The first ones spent their time plotting against the faculty, destroying school properties for no reason other than fun, and executing obnoxious ideas, like bunking classes, or betting money on games/matches, or stealing from the teachers' common room to delay results, and so on. The other kind, on the contrary, used their time to arrange cultural functions, friendly tournaments, building debate/music/literary clubs, helping teachers, raising money for relief funds, or even fighting against the principal on issues like 'more time for break period', or 'we want a picnic every year' or 'the girls' toilet has to be improved' and so on.

Haruno Sakura, from the very beginning of her school life, had been one of the latter group of active students. And since neither her studies nor her sweet manners were seriously damaged by her other activities, teachers, as well as students(except some), knew and loved her.

The Inactive students, just like the active ones, were divided into two groups. One that spent their time mingling with friends, gossiping about the rumours spread by the rogue inactive people, or in other words, the group that tended to enjoy life without complications. The other kind was the silent, so called brilliant kind who used their time to study, study, or in other words. . .study. The first kind were usually happy-go-lucky by nature(with a couple of exceptions, ofcourse), supporting the active students from backstage, sometimes even volunteering to help a good cause. The latter kind preferred to keep all their opinions to themselves, and stay away from activities that didn't involve studying.

Uchiha Sasuke was one of the latter kind of the inactive students. But because of his unusually fast brain that earned the school lots of prizes in different Olympiads, he was a star for the teachers, and because of his unusually great looks and broody nature, students (girls, to be exact) loved him.

If you look at their lives and nature, you'd probably find no similarities between Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, except for one thing. One friend, actually. Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was one student of Konoha High School who couldn't be categorized into any of the types mentioned above. He was a . . . a strange mixture of both, you could say. The blonde was too lazy to be one of the active group, and too loud to be one of the inactive. He was all for mischiefs as long as they were harmless to others. He was one of the main organizers for picnics, tournaments, parties, anything that didn't involve studying. Hanging out with friends was his favorite hobby. He wasn't brilliant, neither was he dumb, he just hated studying, and loved games. Teachers who rated studying up and above everything in life disliked Naruto, though there were teachers like Iruka or Asuma, who were fond of him, inspite of his mischievous character. Uzumaki Naruto was probably the only student everyone in the school was friends with, but it was of great wonder as to how he became best friends with Uchiha Sasuke, a nerd who hated 'socializing'.

However,truth is, if it wasn't for Naruto, Sakura would've kept loathing Sasuke, just like she loathed every other geek who didn't bother to take part in anything except for group study or Olympiads. Despite Sakura's sweet demeanor with friends, she was renowned for a bad temper, which was partly why a lot of people in the school treated her with composed respect. She was quite a self-righteous person, always pushing the 'inactive' people to 'activavte' themselves, which was partly why Sasuke treated her with ill-concealed annoyance.

As is obvious, whatever feeling Sasuke and Sakura had for each other, was mutual, although they'd never had a real conversation in all the years they studied together.

It was the last year of their school life when all that changed, through an incident that made them look at each other differently.

Like everyone else in school, Sakura was a friend of Naruto's. And due to the picnics and functions they arranged together, they'd become pretty close to each other during the last couple of monthes of school. That's why when Naruto invited Sakura to watch him play at the finale of the football tournament and cheer for him, she'd agreed happily.

It was a pretty intense match, both teams giving their best shot and all. But in the end Naruto's team beat the other by one goal, and all Sakura's hard work cheering them at the top of her lungs had been paid off.

Naruto's team had always been unbeatable, so the outcome of the match didn't come as a surprise to Sakura. What did surprise her, though, was what she heard while passing the refreshment room by the field.

The goalkeeper of the opposing team was talking to the center forward.

"That bastard Uzumaki did it again." he gritted his teeth in disgust, "that fucking bastard."

That made Sakura stop just outside the room, unbeknownst to the guys.

His companion sneered. "I don't know how he does it every year. Did you just see that last goal he scored? He was friggin' flying in the air! That guy's got some talent, I tell you, Ryo."

At that compliment for the guy who'd just made him look like a fool, Ryo lost his temper and shouted out. "He's not talented! Got it? He's just too lucky. That's it!"

"Dude-" the other guy tried to say something but his friend kept going, he was in no mood to listen, or even think, before he started saying, "And you know what? That guy's so lucky that when he and his parents fell into a car accident, he was the only one who survived! And guess what, he doesn't even have to study to pass the exams, 'cause he's the friggin' foster kid of the Principal, that old bastard Sarutobi! You think those free kicks that he got were our fault today? It was all a scam, I tell you! He only wins every time 'cause our referee's too afraid to deny the principals' son of his demand! You get it? Uzumaki Naruto is not talented, he's a fuckin' fraud who –"

"Enough!" a shout from the door stopped him short and he turned around to find Sakura standing there, with fists clenched tight and eyes glistening with outrage.  
>"Who do you think you are to talk like that about Naruto, huh?" Sakura stomped towards the huge goalkeeper and poked him at the chest hard enough to make him stumble back an inch. "Naruto's a fraud, huh? And who are you? A saint? You freaking loser!"<p>

The guy finally got hold of his bearings and shot back, "Who the hell are you, bitch?"

The other guy in the room finally opened his mouth. "Shut up and mind your own business, pinky."

That got Sakura's blood to boil. She snorted in disgust, "Maybe I should. You're just two losers barking about how you lose every year to Naruto."

"You whore!" the goalkeeper raised a hand to strike Sakura, but once again, he was stopped short, this time by a strong grip on his fist.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be doing that." Sasuke said in an ice cold voice as he set Ryo's hand firmly by his side and pushed him away from Sakura's face.

"Now who the fuck are you, bastard?" Ryo shouted yet again.

Sasuke walked closer to Ryo and said in a voice that could've frozen water, " Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's friend. Now I think you've used that filthy tongue of yours enough for today. If I don't see you stop now, I promise to cut it out and throw it in the trashcan behind you, do you get me?"

There was something about the coldness of his voice, or the murderous look on his face that made Ryo take a cautious step back. The other guy in the room, who'd frozen after hearing Sasuke's name, now caught his friend's collar and dragged him out of the room. But on his way out, he looked back at Sasuke with unmistakable fear in his eyes and mumbled, "I apologize, Uchiha-san."

That left Sakura standing in the middle of the room, dumbfounded by everything that had happened within a couple of minutes, staring after Sasuke's back, who'd just saved not only Naruto's honor, but also hers, and then left without so much as a look at her face.

That's when Sakura realized, Uchiha Sasuke was more than just textbooks and brilliance, he was a great friend, he was an intimidating man, he was a mystery.

As for Sasuke, that was the first time he found a seed of respect in his mind for the loud, bossy pinkhead. He still thought Sakura was annoying, but couldn't help but admit that she was brave as well.

For the next couple of weeks, Sakura kept looking for Sasuke, to thank him for saving her that day, but she found no such chance. She never mentioned that incident to Naruto, and she knew neither did Sasuke. Then the final exams fell upon them and Sakura lost hope of seeing Sasuke again soon. The last time she saw him was at the Graduation day, when it was too crowded to talk to him, especially when he pretended to not know her the slightest bit. After that everybody went their own ways for college and Sakura thought she'd never meet Sasuke ever again in her life.

Until she met him long after she'd given up on trying to find him, at a place far far away from Konoha.

* * *

><p>It was ironic in a sense, Sakura thought, to meet him after such a long time in a different city, in a weird situation. And she could tell from the look of his face, that he was thinking the exact same thing.<p>

Finally, Sakura was the first one to recover from the surprise and talk.

"Sasuke." A smile slowly lit up her face as she regarded Sasuke with casual curiosity.

Sasuke nodded before replying in an even tone, "Sakura."

Sakura was somehow relieved to know that he actually remembered her, and the little smile on her face spread just a little wider. She leaned her shoulder on the tree, suddenly feeling awkward. Sakura had no idea what to say to Sasuke, and he was probably going through the same thing, she realized. But standing there in front of an old acquaintance saying nothing didn't seem appropriate either. Then she remembered a piece of information she'd heard a long time ago.

"Hey. You study at the Sound University of Engineering and Business Administration, right?"

"Hn." Sasuke said before leaning against the tree and looking at the horizon, his side towards Sakura.

_He doesn't seem to be interested in talking. _Sakura thought, a little confused what to say next. Then she remembered something more.

"Hey does Naruto study with you too?" Sakura asked excitedly. After school, she'd somehow lost all connection with the blonde. She only knew he studied in Sound, which she hadn't remembered until now.

At the mention of Naruto, Sasuke's mind filled up with images of his room and a sick feeling registered in his stomach, along with utter disgust for the irresponsibility of his best friend. So the "Hn" he said this time sounded a little harsher than he'd intended.

Sakura easily inferred his annoyance but she thought it was meant for her and the smile disapperead from her face, replaced by hurt.

_Fine. Maybe I should just leave. _Sakura thought tiredly.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke's mild voice took Sakura by surprise just when she was about to leave.

"Um. . well. I was a medical student at Konoha. I got a scholarship to study under Tsunade at the Sound Med School. So I moved here a month ago."

"I meant," Sasuke said a little impatiently, "What are you doing _here _at the park at this hour?"

Sakura felt her face heat up a bit. "Oh. _That _here." She fidgeted with the strap of the bag hanging from her shoulder before answering, "I found this place last week. I've been coming here everyday since then." Sakura took a deep breath, relishing the cool evening breeze, looking at the horizon that was a vibrant crimson after the sunset. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Hn." Sasuke said and mentally added, _and it's mine, so leave me alone._

But Sakura showed no signs of leaving, rather she kept looking at the horizon, at the changing colours of the sky.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She asked him, a faint smile touching her lips as she watched a flock of birds flying home before dark.

Sasuke was also caught up at the scene. "I come here everyday." he replied absently.

"Really?" Sakura was surprised, "How come I never saw you?"

"I was away for the last few days."

"Oh. So you like this place too?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"Hn."

"How long have you been coming here?"

"4 years."

_Whoa. _Suddenly Sakura grinned, "I bet you're quite pissed off to see me here today, ruining your alone time."

This time Sasuke was surprised. "Why would you say that?"

Sakura laughed out loud. "Well. Because I thought the exact same thing when I saw you first." Then she quickly added, "Before I realized it was you, ofcourse."

For some reason, Sasuke was somehow. .amused to hear that. "Oh," he said awkwardly.

"And also because of the 'what the hell' that slipped your mouth", Sakura winked at him, smirking.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It was pretty obvious then." Something about the casual laughter in her voice, the teasing tone, made him relax.

"Yeah" Sakura laughed again before turning serious, although the smile was still on her face."This place is . .serene. There's nothing better than a few minutes of solitude after a long tiring day at the hospital, doing wards." She sighed. Sasuke just stared at her, incredulous.

Suddenly Sakura's face lit up again, and she turned towards Sasuke fully, eyes glistening with excitement.

"You know what? I'll make you a deal. Let's share this place and I promise to never bug you."

Sasuke smirked, "You sure you can do that?"

"Well. Try me." Sakura raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

Sasuke was too tired to argue anymore. This just wasn't his day. So he just nodded before sitting down on the platform, one leg stretched in front of him and a forearm resting on the other knee. It took a while for Sakura to realize that Sasuke had actually accepted the deal, and a few more seconds to decide to sit down, cross legged with a distance from him, and enjoy the view for a bit longer.

That was the first one of many evenings that Sasuke and Sakura spent in each other's company, under the peace and silence of the beautiful Sakura tree.

And that's where our story begins.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Super late, i know. I'm sorry. This chap was totally boring, i know that too. I'm sorry again. But this is the first time i'm writing a story, and realizing how hard it is to create something. It'd be nice if you could review, and you know, encourage me, if you want me to continue, that is. Hey by the way lots of thanks to my first reviewers, **TheblackRose123, Nox Maltid, BlazingFire18,** all three of them very talented writers themselves. Your reviews made me extremely happy:)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Smiles, the nods, the walks**

Studying and working under Tsunade was not as fun and exciting as Sakura had imagined it would be. It was, infact, quite painful at times, like today.

Sakura was standing in front of a desk, behind which sat the legend herself, the giant in the medical world, the person who has as many books written on her life story as the number of text books a first year medical student has to read. .

Lady Tsunade, Dean of one of the most presitigous medical institutions of the country.

Hung over and asleep on her desk in broad daylight.

"Tsunade-sama", Sakura tried to wake up the lady sleeping on top of a huge pile of papers on her desk, knowing full well that a simple call was NOT going to do any good.

The blonde head on the desk only stirred a little bit at Sakura's calling.

Normally, Sakura would have tried to wake her teacher/boss up just by calling her name for a few more times before banging her fist on the desk, the way Shizune-sama had taught her to do in this type of situations. But today, she was too eager to follow courtesy. So she walked around the huge secretariat desk and knocked heavily right in front of the beautiful face lying on it.

"Hmm…" mumbled Tsunade, still not ready to wake up.

"Tsunade-sama" Sakura tried again, "You need to wake up now."

"Ahh….why?" the addressed lady finally raised her head and yawned.

"You have a meeting with the board in less than an hour, remember? Here's the paperwork you asked me to sort out." Sakura said, handing over a thick file to her boss, "You'll have to sign them."

Tsunade took the file and glanced at them tiredly. She really shouldn't have drunk so much sake last night. It was 3 in the afternoon and yet the headache was just as terrible as it was in the morning.

"Hand me some Tylenol, will you?" Tsunade asked her student/part-time employee. "I'm gonna need it to 'chat' with those boring board members."

Sakura smiled as she complied to the order. Tsunade gulped the medication with a glass of water before looking at Sakura, who was still standing by the desk, hands folded neatly behind her back. The blonde raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sensei..I mean, Tsunade-sama," Sensei at the hospital, 'sama' in the office, that was the first lesson Tsunade had given Sakura on her first day as a temporary replacement for Shizune. "I was wondering if it'd be okay if I didn't stay until after the meeting. It hadn't been fixed until this morning and I sort of made plans. . .I'm not allowed to be in there anyways. . ." Sakura trailed off hesitantly. "I mean I can totally stay if you have any work you want me to do but-"

"You want the afternoon off today?" Tsunade finished for her.

Sakura nodded hopefully, "If it's okay with you, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade thought for a few seconds about the request. It wasn't like she'd need Sakura after the meeting. The meeting was just a simple formality anyways, even if there were any paperwork to be done, it was nothing that couldn't wait until the next morning.

Truth be told, Tsunade admired Sakura quite a lot. She had not only gained the scholarship, but also proven to everyone that she deserved it more than anybody else. She was hard-working, and a quick learner, something that made Tsunade pick her as a temporary assistant until Shizune came back from her special training.

"Fine," Tsunade finally declared, "You can go leave after I get into the meeting."

"Thank you so much, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said with a big grin on her face.

After an hour, Sakura came out of the hospital and took a deep breath in the fresh air. _Great day to meet old friends_, Sakura thought as she started a brisk walk towards the center market, beside which stood the only ramen shop of this city.

It was going to be a great afternoon.

* * *

><p>"Dobe, ..Arm. Now." Hissed a very indignant Sasuke while being dragged by his best friend to God knew where.<p>

Said dobe was not at all affected by the warning, but he let go of the arm anyway. Sasuke halted right where he was, turning towards Naruto with a deep frown of anger etched across his handsome face.

'What the hell do you think you're doing, you dumbass?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's foxy grin widened before he replied, "We're going to Niran's ramen shop, Teme!"

"Suit yourself," Sasuke turned back to the room he'd just been dragged out of, "I'm not coming."

"Aw. . teme!" Naruto whined, "Why?"

"Because I have to work on my year final project and because I don't like ramen." Sasuke replied while making his way back to their room.

"Don't talk so disrespectfully about ramen, you!" The blonde always took it personal when it came to his most favorite food.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't even bother to glance at his friend as he reached the door and fished the key out of his pocket.

Seeing that Sasuke really was going to ditch him, Naruto tried one last time. "But we have a special guest today!"

A guest? "Who?" the question automatically slipped Sasuke's mouth before he could stop it, the door half open in front of him.

"You'll know when you see. Now c'mon Teme! You have to come out for dinner anyway. We'll grab an early supper tonight!" Naruto was practically radiating excitement.

After a moment of consideration, Sasuke realized that the dobe was right. He had to take a break for meal, why not now? His concentration had already been broken by his loud roommate, and besides, he'd started to wonder who the 'guest' could be, although he'd never say it out loud.

"Fine." Sasuke sighed and locked the door back before walking past Naruto along the corridor towards the exit, "But I'll only stay as long as it takes to finish the meal."

Naruto's grin returned as he caught up with him.

"You got it."

* * *

><p>Sakura had almost given up on waiting and ordered for herself when she discovered a very familiar fox-like face and a head full of sunshine hair looking at her from the entrance of the small homely ramen shop, grinning like crazy.<p>

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice boomed all over the place, reminding her just how loud the blonde had always been.

Sakura stood up slowly as a big grin of her own emerged and within a moment, found herself engulfed in a warm, bear hug, which she returned just as warmly.

"Oh my God it's been so LONG Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out in excitement, "but you're just the same as before!"

"So are you, Naruto," Sakura replied as she gave a shake to her head to get rid of the ringing in her ears, "Only louder."

Naruto winked at the pink haired girl wickedly, "I keep practice."

Sakura smiled. "So how are you? How've you been?"

"I'm good, but I've been better." Naruto sighed before adding, "Finals are coming up and you have no freaking idea how much pressure we're in right now."

"Huh" someone snorted behind Naruto. "Like _you_ do."

A bit startled, Sakura looked at Sasuke who'd just emerged from behind Naruto and was looking right back at her with something akin to cautioun.

"Hey teme!" Naruto took it upon himself to handle introductions, "Meet Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was a bit confused, hadn't Sasuke told Naruto that they'd already met the day before?

"Sakura-chan, meet Teme!" Naruto said before hastily correcting himself, "I mean, Sasuke!"

Sasuke nodded at Sakura, who was still staring at him with a puzzled expression. Why wasn't he saying anything yet? And suddenly, it occurred to her that Naruto didn't know about that corner of the park or Sasuke's alone time and Sasuke didn't want him to. She gave Sasuke a meaningful look, to which he replied with a nod.

Naruto, unaware of the silent conversation, put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Sakura-chan, you remember Sasuke, right? He was in school with us? The so called brilliant nerd with a huge stick up his ass?"

Sakura laughed out and took a brief glance at Sasuke's frowning face, "Well now that you've told me, he does look familiar."

Oblivious to the smirk on Sasuke's face," Naruto sighed dramatically, "The poor bastard was almost invisible at school, he wouldn't have survived without me."

Sasuke smacked the blonde head, "Don't push your luck, dobe." Then he settled down on a seat against the counter.

Naruto would've smacked him back hadn't the waitress showed up with a menu, "Would you like to order?"

"Yes! I'm starving!" Naruto yelled before he also took a seat beside Sasuke.

Sakura sat on Naruto's other side, wondering if the guys were always like this.

Something in her head said that they were.

* * *

><p>Dinner was good. Sakura enjoyed not only the meal which was delicious ('divine' was the word used by Naruto), but also the constant bickering of the two boys (loud yells and cries from Naruto's part, gruntsinsulting remarks from Sasuke's), occasionally intervening as a middle man. They seemed so different from each other, and yet whenever she looked at them, she was reminded of two brothers, their bonding just as deep as their rivalry.

The trio were walking down the street towards Sakura's hostel when Naruto asked her, "Hey Sakura-chan, I totally forgot to ask, when actually did you move to Sound? You just called me yesterday."

"Not long, really." Sakura replied, suddenly nervous. "Um. . a month?"

Naruto halted. "A MONTH?" He sounded shocked. "You've been here for a month and you called me just yesterday?"

Sakura blushed, halting herself. "Well. . you know. . in the rush of it all, moving and stuff. . I'd totally forgotten you live here, Naruto. Until yesterday when . ." she stopped, taking a quick look at Sasuke, who was standing beside Naruto impassively. "When I . .bumped into a guy from your university in the . . hospital." She finished hastily.

Naruto was still looking at her with accusing eyes. Sakura gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

It was a genuine apology and so Naruto smiled back at her before resuming the walk. "It's ok Sakura-chan. Important thing is, we're together now and we're gonna have a BLAST living in the same city!"

Naruto's foxy grin made Sakura happy enough to wink and add, "Hell yeah!"

Sasuke, obviously didn't join in the chatter. He hadn't even wanted to come for the walk. Straight back to Dorm after dinner, he'd told Naruto. But the blonde had evidently broke the promise with "Aw c'mon man, it's not nice to let a lady walk back home alone at this hour!"

Sakura had protested, saying she didn't need them to drop her home, but Naruto wouldn't pay any heed to her. In the end Sasuke had to come along, just so the dobe would shut up.

It was almost 9 when they reached the ladies hostel where Sakura lived. Sakura opened the gate and turned back to her escorts.

"Good night,guys."

Naruto gave her a hug. "Good night, Sakura-chan. See you soon!"

Sasuke nodded at her.

Sakura smiled at both of them before getting in and closing the gate behind herself.

On their way back, Naruto said cheerfully, "It was fun, eh Teme? We should see her again soon!"

Sasuke didn't say anything in protest like Naruto had expected him to.

_Probably worried about the exams. _Naruto figured and started whistling merrily as they walked down the road towards the dorm.

He didn't know that Sasuke was quite sure about seeing her again soon.

* * *

><p>True to his suspicion, Sakura was already sitting there next afternoon when he reached the corner of the park, her back leaned against the tree, absently looking at a heavy book on her lap.<p>

At the sound of Sasuke's footsteps, she looked up and smiled at him. Sasuke nodded before sitting down on the platform.

"Naruto doesn't know about this place, does he?" Sakura asked him casually.

"I thought you weren't supposed to bug me?" Sasuke said, looking at the horizon which was soon to turn crimson.

"Yeah well. ." Sakura said, blushing a bit. _Damn it. _"I was just curious. It's ok. You don't have to answer. Sorry." She turned back to her book and flipped a page, trying to act nonchalant. She really shouldn't have asked. So what if she had lied to Naruto for him? That didn't mean she could expect to get a decent answer from him, right? How could she bother him with a question? It was her fault, period.

Sasuke saw the girl beside him flipping through pages, evidently hurt and angry, and sighed.

"No he doesn't know. Now you can stop jabbing at your book, unless you want to tear it apart for some reason."

Sasuke's tired voice halted Sakura's hand mid air abruptly. As she focused down on the book, she realized he was quite right and her face heated up even more.

Keeping her face concealed behind her pink bangs, Sakura closed the tortured book and put it in her bag. Then she turned her head towards Sasuke, silently demanding further explanation.

Sasuke sighed again. "If you haven't noticed yet, Naruto's a pretty loud guy."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So?"

"So, after a day of attending long lectures of boring professors, and working my ass off on projects, and hiding from fangirls, I think I'm allotted to a little peace in my life before I can go back to dorm and face the dobe in all his energetic glory. Happy?"

A few moments passed as Sasuke scowled at the horizon and Sakura gaped at him.

And then Sakura started giggling.

"What?" Sasuke said, a bit indignant.

"Oh." Sakura managed to calm down, although her eyes were still laughing. "You poor guy. Tortured by the world, seeking happiness." And she gave into giggles again.

Sasuke snorted. "You make me sound pathetic." Although he could mentally admit that he did sound a bit pathetic. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

"Relax." Sakura said mirthfully, "I'd already guessed it. Just didn't know about your inner turmoil!" She couldn't resist adding the last part, and Sasuke's deadly glare somehow made it funnier.

As the laughter died down, Sakura remembered something from his earlier speech. "What was that bit about hiding from fangirls?"

"Nothing." Sasuke replied quickly, a little too quickly, perhaps. This time he was the one drifting behind black bangs.

Suddenly Sakura realized, and broke out into another fit of laughter, "Oh. . my. . God. .! You got admirers here too?" She got the question out between gasps of giggles.

"None of your business." Sasuke growled.

With great effort, Sakura became normal again. "Sorry."

She smiled sheepishly. "I understand. Sometimes you just gotta take a break from everything to be by yourself. I know the feeling. Trust me, I do." Her face had turned serious, understanding.

"Is that why you moved to Sound?" the question seemed to have slipped from Sasuke and he immediately turned impassive, but Sakura replied anyway.

"Sort of." She smiled again. Then added absently "I always wanted to. . be on my own."

Sasuke regarded Sakura for a brief second, her eyes were unreadable, fixed on the crimson horizon. Then he followed her gaze as well.

After a couple of minutes, Sakura sighed and got up on her feet, brushing off the dust from her back.

"You gonna stay longer?"

Sasuke didn't answer, but brought himself up and got down from the platform before looking back at her silently.

Smiling, Sakura followed him.

That was the first of many times that Sasuke walked with Sakura to her hostel, on the way back to his dorm.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Happy New Year everyone! um...yeah...i know it's almost too late to say that...but i was sorta kinda busy with stuff and i was hoping maybe you could forgive me..? And if you don't, then scold me all you want through reviews. I'll endure your wrath.. *sighs dramatically*


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:The Unexpected**

It was noon.

Sasuke suppressed a sigh as the clock on the outer wall of his Professor's office struck 12. This was what he'd stayed up the whole night for, with no meal and no sleep, and not a moment of rest.

A meeting that was late by two damn hours.

In all honesty, Sasuke knew he should've expected this. Having been a student of the guy for 4 years and worked with him as an understudy on numerous occasions, Hatake Kakashi's tendency of being late for everything was definitely not a surprise. But to be late for a meeting he himself had demanded for, on a Sunday morning, providing Sasuke a deadline for his final project which was to determine the outcome of his past hardwork and gateway to the future ahead? This was infuriating.

Sasuke contemplated going back to the dorm and taking a nap. After all it wasn't his fault that his professor was unable to appear on time for his meeting with his most brilliant student, and Sasuke could sure use some rest having spent the past week in a total craze to finish the project and meet the deadline. But Sasuke knew very well that no matter how calm and careless he seemed on the outside, his mind was practically reeling with tension, etching to be free of the suspense. He mentally groaned in exasperation.

_Where the hell are you Kakashi?_

As if in answer to his unspoken curse, a cool, lazy voice floated in from the entrance of the hallway. "Hello Sasuke."

The said young man stood up from the couch he'd been sitting on, and looked at his wrist watch pointedly.

The gesture wasn't lost on the silver haired man, and he smiled a little sheepishly at his prodigious student. "Looks like I'm a bit late."

"A bit", Sasuke said in a cold voice.

"You know Sasuke," Kakashi said in a cheerful voice, "I was on my way here when I saw an old blind lady walking by the road carrying a load of grocery, and I just couldn't help but assist the poor soul. Surely you understand?"

Sasuke only stared at his teacher with cold disdain. _Old lady my ass. You were probably out there picking up some hot salesgirl in the grocery store._

In his early thirties, Hatake Kakashi was the youngest professor in not only the university, but also the country, and his brilliance was just as popular as his charm over ladies. Like his tendency of being late, Kakashi's popularity as a flirt, along with his habit of making up emotionally blackmailing excuses, were nothing new to Sasuke.

The said flirt smirked inwardly at the glare his prodigious student was throwing at him, and declared in a cheerful voice, "Now that you've understood my reasons, let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

><p>An hour later, Kakashi sat in his office, silent and thoughtful. He was officially impressed by what the young man sitting across the huge secretariat table had just shown him. It was brilliant, no doubt about that, but then Kakashi had expected nothing less from his favorite student.<p>

What kept him silent though, was the question whether or not he should make the offer he knew would change Sasuke's life just like it had changed his. He looked at Sasuke, sitting calmly with elbows on the table, fingers laced together under his nose, pitch black eyes staring right back at him with unspoken question.

"How did you come up with that idea?"

Sasuke regarded his teacher for a moment before answering, "It came to me."

Kakashi knew from the finality in his student's voice that he wouldn't say anything else on the matter, so he decided to cut into the chase.

"What you've done here Sasuke, is more than enough to get you a first class." Kakashi watched the young man's shoulder relax a bit before adding, "But I want to know if that's enough for _you._"

Sasuke's eyes betrayed no surprise or confusion as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Kakashi pulled his revolving chair a little further from the table and stood up, both hands in pockets.

"I've known you for 4 years now, Sasuke, and I know just how much you're capable of. I also know that this project, know matter how brilliant it is, is not what you intend this to remain."

Slowly, deliberately, Sasuke withdrew his hands from the table and leaned back on the chair, eyes fixed on the siver haired man. Kakashi didn't need to hear him say 'go on'.

"Since we both know that this progaramme you've written has the potential to go a long way," Kakashi used the table as support as he leaned towards Sasuke, "I'm going to make you an offer."

* * *

><p>Sakura yawned as she finished the last paperwork Tsunade had given her and stood up stretching her limbs, all stiff from sitting in the same position for two hours straight.<p>

It'd been quite a hectic day. Sakura had to wake up super early in the morning and run off to the hospital, even though it was Sunday. Apparently one of the students doing wards had become sick on duty and been suspended for the day, and the superviser only had Sakura's cell number in hand. Since the sick guy was a friend of Sakura's, she had no choice but to come cover for him. After three hours of ward duty she'd been summoned to Tsunade's office to help her get some paperwork done (here 'help' meant working her ass off while her boss gulped down a bottle of sake).

And now, after sending her boss off to the meeting and praying to God that she doesn't fall asleep in front of the board members, Sakura finally had the day, or whatever was left of it, to spend as she liked.

Closing the office door behind her, Sakura glanced at the grandfather clock at the lobby on her way out of the administration building. 5 o' clock. She could either go to the hostel and take a nap, which would probably be a wise choice 'cause God knew she was damn tired. Or she could do as her daily routine asked her to. Walk to the park, watch the sunset, walk back home.

Home. After 6 long monthes, she'd finally come to think of the hostel as 'home'. A second one, no doubt, but a home nonetheless.

In the past monthes, Sakura had earned herself quite a few friends. Good friends. Tenten bonded pretty well with her, despite Sakura being a student and herself being an intern. Sakura admired her roommate and both of them shared almost everything with each other. They had other girlfriends at the college and hostel also but were the closest since they lived together. Living in a hostel, in Sakura's opinion, had a nice charm of it's own. She'd begun to like the special weekly dinners when all the girls ate together, even started looking forward to them. Sakura had friends at Tsunade's office as well, and by some magic, the lady herself seemed to treat her as a friend at times. Ever since Shizune had come back, she'd devoted herself to the hospital only, and it was decided that from now on, a promising student will serve as Tsunade's secratery every year, Sakura being the one this year. The former secratery, Shizune was a lot like a friend/older sister to Sakura.

Outside med society, Sakura ofcourse had Naruto. They met atleast once each week, having dinner and spending time together. Sakura always had a big laugh while with Naruto. She had already started thinking of him as a brother, a childish young brother. And Sakura could tell Naruto looked at her like a big sister as well.

The friendship Sakura most treasured though, was the most non-existent one. Sasuke.

Somehow the two of them had signed an unwritten agreement, to keep their little friendship(atleast to Sakura it was friendship, though she figured Sasuke probably took her for a nuisance) a secret. Sasuke would most of the times join in with Naruto and Sakura, a result of the blonde's non-stop nagging, Sakura had come to think, but he rarely talked to her at those dinners. Although Sakura had noticed that Sasuke seemed to relax in front of her more than he used to, she never said anything of it. She never revealed to Naruto that she met Sasuke on a daily basis, that they shared a secret place of their own, that Naruto was no more the only link between the two of them. That sitting side by side, gazing at the sunset together in silence, a strange, comforting bond had somehow formed between her and Sasuke.

It wasn't always silent though. At times, Sakura would ask him a question, and Sasuke would grudgingly answer. His monosyllabic replies(Hn, yeah, no, ok, fine) made it hard to start a conversation and Sakura hardly got anything more than those, but she kept trying anyway. She never really understood the need that she felt in her heart, to get to know him better. To solve the mystery that was Uchiha Sasuke. And she thought it was better to just go with it rather than think it over too much.

But no matter how much she wanted to know about him, Sakura never asked any personal questions, not after what happened the one time when she had.

* * *

><p>Sakura still felt queasy thinking about that day. It was quite a bright afternoon. Sakura walked upto the platform in a cheery mode since she'd just got her salary. Sasuke wasn't there yet. She sat down on the usual spot, thinking what to get her parents and brother with her first earning. She'd only decided on a piece of pottery for her mother and an original copy of one of Tsunade's books for her father when Sasuke arrived. Sakura looked up and smiled at him and he nodded before settling himself on the platform. This was another usual routine for them. Every time they met here, Sakura would smile and Sasuke would nod.<p>

After sharing her great news with him and receiving a rather emotionless Hn, Sakura suddenly remembered something. Deciding on a gift for her brother was going to be really hard, so why not seek a little help?

"Hey Sasuke", she asked cheerfully, "You have a brother, right? So can you give me any idea what to get my brother with my first salary?"

She'd noticed his shoulders and jaw stiffen the moment she uttered 'brother', but the rest of the question had come out before her brain could comprehend the observation.

Sasuke remained silent for the rest of the afternoon and Sakura didn't dare ask any more questions seeing the cold, heartless, pained look etched across his usually poker face and the clenched fists. He didn't even wait till sunset that day, just stood up abruptly and left without so much as a glance towards Sakura.

Sakura was horrified. She knew she'd ruined any chance of a friendship between them, and she only had herself to blame. The next day, Sasuke didn't show up at all.

It was three more excruciating days before Sasuke finally appeared at the park again and by that time Sakura was convinced that he'd never forgive her for whatever it was that she'd done. But Sasuke never brought it up again. Sakura was ready to say sorry, to promise never to ask anything personal again, but in the end all she could do when she saw him walking up that platform was to give him an apologetic smile, and somehow, by some miracle, it was accepted with a nod.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, lady." The male voice brought Sakura out of her reverie. She moved out of the way murmuring a sorry and realized she was already on the way to the park. With a sigh she resumed her walk.<p>

She hadn't seen much of Sasuke or Naruto the past few weeks, due to their finals. So this was probably gonna be another day of sitting alone under the sunset.

Except Sasuke was already there when she arrived.

"Hey!" Sakura was surprised(and a little embarrassed) at the happiness in her own voice, but couldn't erase the wide grin on her face.

Sasuke only nodded in reply to the enthusiastic greeting and Sakura rolled her eyes. Walking around Sasuke, she took her usual seat beside him before asking, "How was the exam?"

"Fine."

"The project went well?"

"Hn."

"So it's all done?"

"yeah."

Sakura sighed. How hard was it to use more than one word to answer a question?

"How was your day?" the hesitation in Sasuke's usually cool voice made it clear that it wasn't often when he expressed interest in other people's day. And Sakura almost jumped in surprise.

"Um. .well. ." she tried to hide her bewilderment, afraid to discourage him, "Kinda crappy. Had to work all day starting from 5 am this morning."

Sasuke smirked. And suddenly Sakura realized she'd missed that sideways smirk of his a great deal the past weeks.

"So that's why." Sasuke left the sentence at that.

"That's why what?"

"You look like shit."

Sakura's face turned scarlet. "You don't look like the prince yourself, Mister." She said, patting at her hair self consciously.

Sasuke shrugged.

"How many nights exactly have you passed without any sleep? And how many meals have you skipped in the last few days?" There was no escaping Sakura's trained, doctor's eyes.

"Just a couple." Sasuke replied to the reprimanding questions in a lazy voice. "Enough to still attract the fangirls." Smirk again.

"Show off." Sakura muttered.

"Anyways," she sobered up again. "How did the project go? You'd been working so hard on it."

"It was. . unexpected." The uneasiness was back in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked cautiously. You never know what question might tick him off.

Luckily for her, Sasuke seemed to be in an unusual mode to talk.

"Ever heard of Hatake Kakashi?"

Sakura looked puzzled. "The founder of Hatake Corporation?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Well. Who doesn't know him? As far as I know he's one of the most brilliant scientists and most clever businessmen in the country, right? And isn't he your professor?"

Sasuke nodded again. "Hn."

"So? What about him?"

"I think," Sasuke said, an uncertainty seeping through his voice, "He offered me a job in his lab, as his assistant."

* * *

><p>AN: I AM SO SORRY for the late update. Life's been kinda busy the last few days. And i believe it's gonna reamin that way for the next 3-4 weeks. So i'd like to apologize in advance for the next late updates. About this chapter. Probably the worst one so far. But i promise it'll get better.

Reviews make me want to write faster :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Dreams and Ambitions**

It wasn't an usual thing for Uchiha Sasuke to be confused or indecisive, for him it was always about making a decision himself and approaching it directly. But today, either because of sleep-deprivation, or the fact that he hadn't had a proper meal in a week, he was finding himself quite out of the character.

For one, he just couldn't figure out what to make of Kakashi's offer. It was a dream job for a guy like him, no doubt about that. But taking it meant to settle in Sound, far away from Konoha, far away from his mother.

Then there was the sudden streak of 'sharing' that was totally foreign to his nature. He didn't know why he'd done it really. He just felt like. . telling someone. Even if he decided to not take the job, it still was a pretty big news. It was appreciation for what he'd done with his project he'd worked so hard on. And no matter how calm and cool he acted, the pride was swelling up inside him, making him want to let someone know. He couldn't tell Naruto, 'cause he'd have made a huge deal out of it. He couldn't tell his Mom, 'cause she'd get too excited and then too worried. That's why when he thought about telling someone, the only name that came to his mind was Sakura's.

Who was currently staring at him with a puzzled expression.

"What?" Sasuke said irritably.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't understand," she said, "Why do you 'think' he offered you a job?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Because he told me so."

"Who did?"

"Kakashi. My professor. The one who judged my project."

The disbelief on Sakura's face somehow felt like an insult to Sasuke.

"Just forget it." He said with conviction. He really shouldn't have said anything at all.

"Oh My God!"

Sakura's shrill exclamation pierced through the quiet, peaceful afternoon, and effectively, Sasuke's ears.

"What the hell?" Sasuke hissed, rubbing his damaged ear.

"Wow." She finally said when Sasuke seemed to have regained his hearing. "That's great news, Sasuke! I'm really happy for you!"

And from the look of genuine happiness on her face, Sasuke knew she meant it.

"Hn."

"Oh c'mon Sasuke." Sakura almost whined. " You've just got a job under the smartest scientist there is, at the biggest farm of the country, and you aren't even officially a graduate yet! Now would be the time to be a teensy bit excited, don't you think?" She pouted.

"You seem to be taking care of that well enough on your own." He drawled.

Sakura blushed before defending herself. "Well sorry if I'm not a robot like you! And sorry that I'm so happy to hear such a great news of a friend!"

Sasuke only smirked while Sakura calmed herself, although the mirth in her eyes was still their, a sign of how truly delighted she was for Sasuke, and somehow it made him feel better to have 'shared'.

Maybe telling her wasn't such a bad idea after all. He thought.

"So when are you celebrating?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

Or maybe it was.

'I'm not. Not yet." The playfulness in his voice was gone, replaced by a serious undertone.

Sasuke could feel Sakura hesitating. After a few silent moments, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Not yet..?" she asked slowly.

Sasuke shook his head. Why was he even talking about this? And to her, of all people?

"Well. ." Sakura trailed off for a second. "Why?" she finally asked , then added hastily, "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it."

Sasuke let out a tired sigh. Why did I have to open my damn mouth?

He kept silent for a moment, looking at the almost drowned sun, feeling Sakura observing him from the corner of her eyes. That was when Sasuke realized something. The Sakura sitting beside him right now, silently waiting for a reply, was very different from the one he knew back in school. The Sakura he knew in school wouldn't wait for someone to answere her questions, wouldn't leave them a choice but to tell her what she asked. Ofcourse, he never really spent time with her back then, but his perceptive eyes always knew her to be a self-righteous person, a girl who would always find a way to have her way with everything and everyone. Sakura had always been an emotional person, always thinking with her heart, making decisions based on feelings and plunging into them full force.

But it were those perceptive eyes of Sasuke that now recognized the almost same perception in the green eyes staring back at him. The Sakura sitting beside him right now was mature, and understanding.

And Sasuke also realized that he must be more out of character today than he'd previously thought, for he heard himself not only replying her unspoken query, but also admitting to the uncertainty in his mind.

"Because I don't know whether or not I'm going to take it."

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't really decide which one made her happier, the fact that Sasuke had achieved such a great opportunity, or that he was willingly telling her about it.<p>

And she couldn't decide whether or not she should ask him to elaborate what he'd just said. Because the curiosity was too much to take, and because the look on Sasuke's face was one of thoughtfulness, not fury, Sakura decided to push her luck a bit more.

"Why would you not want to take it?" she asked, careful not to sound too pressing.

"Ofcourse I want to take it", Sasuke said impatiently. "The opportunity is way more than I could ask for right now."

"Then. . what's the problem?" Sakura was getting more confused by the moment. As far as she had come to learn in the past days, there was nothing Sasuke loved more than computers. Why would he even think of refusing a job that would let him pursue his hobby further?

"If I take the offer," she could clearly hear the unease in his voice as he answered her silent question, " I'll have to sign a contract."

"And?" Sakura asked encouragingly.

"Kakashi has asked me to be the head of the research committee, which means I'll have to work at their research lab, which is in Sound." He finished, hoping she'd understand what he was trying to say.

But Sakura didn't, although she now understood the full impact of the proposal Kakashi had made to his favourite student, and the enormity of it. True, Sakura knew very little about computers and the companies that made them. Hell, she didn't even know they had to research stuff until now. But she knew that Hatake Corp was a Konoha based company, and realized how big a responsibility Sasuke was offered to take. If he were to be the head of the lab, he'd have to be the head of the company's only branch in Sound.

She vaguely considered if that was why Sasuke wanted to back out, but dismissed the idea instantly.

If there's one thing Sasuke is not, it would be coward.

"I really can't understand." She confessed at last.

Sasuke sighed. "The contract says that I'll have to stay in Sound for at least the next five years."

And suddenly, Sakura saw it all. She didn't know much about Sasuke's family, and she dared not ask him after what happened the other day, but she knew this much. Sasuke loved his mother more than anything in the world. That was why he couldn't decide whether or not he should stay five more years away from his mother, he couldn't bear to cause her any pain.

Cautiosly, she asked, "Are you worried about your mother?"'

Sasuke nodded, eyes fixed on the now crimson horizon.

Sakura bit her lip, thinking about the issue.

"Let me ask you a question." She said as she turned to look at Sasuke.

"What a surprise." Sasuke said. Sakura chose to ignore the sarcasm.

"Why did you choose computers?"

Sasuke looked at him in surprise. That was unexpected.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean", Sakura said impatiently, "there were plenty of subjects out there. I know your family has a very old and powerful business back in Konoha." She rushed through the sentence to not give him time to get agitated. "It would've been much more appropriate for you to study business administration, or finance, or management, or stuff like those. Then why did you choose computers?"

"Because", Sasuke started, a bit puzzled as to what she was getting at. "Because I find it more interesting than those subjects."

Sakura's face made it clear to him that she demanded a better answer.

"Because I think. . . I know I can do this better than anything else. I can be the best."

Sasuke knew that he sounded arrogant just as much as Sakura knew that he had a right to be arrogant.

"And what do you think of this opportunity?" she asked, eyes fixed on his face searching for any sign of irritation. .or anything. "How much do you want it?"

Sasuke held his breath for a few moments before exhaling loudly. "It's huge," he said, rubbing his temple. "A once in a lifetime opportunity, probably."

Sakura kept silent for a moment, then declared in an even, certain voice. "In that case, I think you should just take it."

Sasuke moved his eyes from the crimson horizon to the girl sitting beside him, once again taken aback. His questioning eyes urged Sakura to speak more.

"Look Sasuke", she began a little hesitantly, "I know. . well, basically nothing about your family." She sighed before starting more confidently. "But I know. . I understand, how important and how . . huge, this offer is. And if Hatake Kakashi sees the potential in you, then I suggest you do the same. 'Cause he's not called the brightest scientist of his time for nothing."

Sakura paused a moment to check his reaction, surprised to find him listening intently. She leaned her head back resting it against the massive tree, eyes on the steadily darkening sky.

"Life keeps giving us chances, you just have to decide which ones to take. And which ones to let go of. No matter how small the offered chance is, or how big the reason for not taking it, you can never help but regret not trying it out. You can never stop wondering what would've happened if you had taken the chance. I've known the feeling Sasuke, and it's not a good one." She finished before taking a deep breath, and then looked at Sasuke to find him watching her speculatively. His dark, deep eyes unnerved her.

"God." She said with a chuckle, "I've been babbling a lot, aren't I?"

A little smirk made it's way to Sasuke's face. It didn't have the ususal mocking edge, but a sudden. . softness. It was almost like . . a smile.

And all on a sudden, Sakura realized how unnaturally beautiful a guy Sasuke really was.

Just as the thought came to her mind, Sakura blushed and quickly got up on her feet.

"It's getting dark. We should probably go." She spoke softly.

We. Him and her. It felt comforting to say that.

Sasuke got up on his feet wordlessly. As they descended the platform and started walking, Sakura suddenly started feeling stupid. Hd she been irritating Sasuke too much? Had she gone too personal?

"Um.. Sasuke.." she trailed off, unsure of what exactly to say. Sasuke turned his head to look at her. With a steadying breath she resumed talking as they reached the park gate. "I probably talked too much today. . I mean, not that I didn't want to. . but . . I guess. . well I can sometimes ask too many questions or go a little too personal. .I guess. .I wanted to help you. . NOT that you needed it. . I mean. ." Sakura knew she was losing it but she had to try. "What I want to say is that I'm sorry if I've crossed any lines or something and I understand if you want to warn me to keep my dist-"

"Sakura." Sasuke's cool voice not only halted Sakura's incessant and meaningless babbling, but also stopped her on her track. Sasuke turned to look at her, his tall figure towering over her petite one, and said with a sideways smirk, "You do talk a lot."

That's when Sakura saw it. It was almost invisible in the dark evening light, almost passable as just a smirk, but it was there. It was a smile.

So she smiled back.

And they resumed their walk towards Sakura's hostel, an unfamiliar, inevitable warmth spreading through her heart.

That night Sasuke lay awake in his bed, listening to Naruto's loud snores, his mind drifting to the words Sakura had spoken.

You can never help but wonder what would've happened if you had taken the chance,

And he made the decision that could potentially alter his life forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **FINALLY I've been able to finish this damn chapterv and post it! I know it's NOTHING considering the huge vacation I'd gone on, but trust me guys, life's been hectic the past two monthes. I'm extremely sorry for the long wait. I promise to update once a month from now on. Well even if i don't, none of YOU know where I live! HUH!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 : Surprise Surprise**.

"Sakura-chaaan!"

If it wasn't for the use of the occasional endearment of her name, it would be the unhealthily loud voice of Naruto that told Sakura that the blonde was extremely happy or excited about something, and she had to move the cellphone a couple of inches away from her ear as it nearly burst from the impact.

"Naruto!" she hissed, "Are you trying to make people deaf?"

Her obnoxious friend only laughed at the remark, "Nope! Just trying to say GOOOD MORNIING!"

"Well I work in a hospital, remember?" She snapped, "And a patient in COMA just woke up asking what's WRONG with you?"

Naruto's voice lowered a notch at this reprimand, but he was always too high spirited to be put off with a little insult. So he tried again, "Oh . . by any chance. . does that patient happen to be a hot single girl? I'd be happy to drop by and let her thank me for bringing her back to life..!" He finished dramatically.

"Naruto." Sakura's warning voice brought the blonde back from his cloud 9 phase. "Sorry, Sakura-chan."

Sakura could just imagine Naruto grinning stupidly, scratching the back of his head. It was never easy to be angry with him for too long.

"What's up?", she asked while adjusting the phone between her shoulder and ear, both hands busy with a huge stack of files.

"Finally you asked!" he replied just as excitedly and Sakura could tell he was trying hard to keep his voice down. "Somethingf big is up! And by big, I mean HUGE!"

"Naruto," Sakura said for the third time, exasperated with the blonde's theatrics. "Would you please just cut to the chase now? I really gotta get back to work. You know? The little doctor thing I do?"

"I'm not gonna say anything now. You'll find out when you come to the Ramen stand at 7. Treat!"

"Treat? Who's giving a treat on a Wednesday? There's so much work…" Sakura was puzzled.

"We'll see. Be there on time!" and he hung up.

"Sakura clicked the phone shut, still wondering about the treat. It had to be Naruto or Sasuke, 'cause they were the only people she knew outside the medical school in Sound. Naruto NEVER gave treats. Then . . was it Sasuke? And suddenly it hit Sakura.

_The Job! Sasuke must have accepted Kakashi's offer!_

It seemed the only plausible solution to the puzzle right now, and Sakura smiled. _He listened_. Then she picked up the files she'd arranged and headed for the East wing of the hospital.

That little smile on her face turned into a broad one as Sakura entered the pediatrics department and took a look around. This was definitely the best part of her job.

Kids were, according to Sakura, a wonder of nature. No matter how sick they were, or how devoid of energy, they always, always found enough incentive to laugh, have fun, and suck out the life from the ones taking care of them, as well as pump them with some of their own happiness.

As Sakura walked to through the general ward, looking for the designated nurse superviser for the ward, she saw a 6 year old girl braiding her doll's hair with such care and tenderness that it made her smile. She was recovering from a severe case of pneumonia. Another little guy, with heavy glasses, was lying on the bed beside her and watching her with obvious interest. Although, Sakura decided, the boy was probably more interested in the box of candies beside her than her beautiful curls or cute chubby cheeks.

As Sakura spotted the nurse she was looking for at the west corner of the large room and headed towards her, she heard someone say her name and turned around to see a 5 year old waving at her from her bed. "Sakura!"

Sakura smiled widely as she made her way to the little girl, and reaching her bedside, spoke warmly, "Yes, Sakura?"

The little girl was actually her namesake, although her name had little to do with her hair, which was not pink like Sakura's, but jet black, with curls at the end.

"Good Morning, Sakura!" the young girl said enthusiastically. The probes and needles sticking to her hand had done little to waver her sunshine smile.

"A very good morning to you too, sweety." Sakura said as she gently moved the black tresses from the small cute face.

"I have something very important to ask you today." The seriousness on the little face almost made Sakura laugh. But instead she asked just as seriously, "What is it, honey?"

"My mom says, since you're older than me, I should not call you by name. I told her, you have the same name as I do, and it'd be really weird to call my name with a 'nee-chan' at the end, but she wouldn't listen. She has told me to call you Sakura nee-chan. But I still think it's creepy. Do you think it's bad that I call you by your name? I mean, do you not like your name? But you should. It's a nice name. I'm not saying so 'cause it's mine too, but I really think it totally goes with your look. So why can't I just call you Sakura?" She finished in one breath and exhaled loudly at last.

Sakura found the whole babbling so pretty that she wanted to hug the little smart kid, but she refrained, knowing that her namesake hated to be treated like a child. So she put her index finger under her chin and pretended to think deeply, "Hmm. That really is a valid question. Now what would be the solution. .?" The kid looked at her hopefully, expecting an answer. Then Sakura clapped dramatically. "A-ha! Why don't you tell your mom that I'm a friend of yours, and then you can call me Sakura, 'cause friends are allowed to call each other by name?"

The mini Sakura seemed to be taken aback by that simple solution, but after a while her little face lit up with a smile that made Sakura want to smother her with kisses.

"So you"re saying. . You and I are friends?" she asked rather hopefully.

"Only if you want to be, honey!" Sakura replied, extending a hand towards the little girl.

Mini Sakura grasped the offered hand at once, wrapping her tiny fingers around it, smiling broadly.

Sakura had just enough time to chuck her newfound friend under the chin before she heard the nurse superviser call out to her, and had to say goodbye. As she turned around and walked up to the old nurse, her smile wavered, shadowed by a sudden sadness. The little girl she'd just befriended, no matter how cheerful or strong she looked, was suffering from leukemia, and there was quite a chance that . .

Sakura stopped herself. No. She couldn't think that way. As a doctor, she knew better than to believe that the little girl wouldn't lose her life. But as long as there was hope of surviving, Sakura refused to think negatively- a view she could hardly make her fellow doctors understand. Yes, she would sort through the worst of the possibilities, but never consider them as fate. One had to fight with all they have, when it came to life and death.

Putting the grim thoughts aside, Sakura started taking reports from the nurse, a little smile back on her face.

* * *

><p>It was almost 7 when Sakura finally finished the last of the paperwork Tsunade had dumped on her, and headed off to the direction of the Ramen bar Naruto had invited her to.<p>

As she walked past the entrance of the park, a small sigh escaped Sakura. She had not gotten off work early enough in the last week, since the day she and Sasuke had that serious conversation, to spend any time at the park. She missed it terribly, the little quiet, serene alone time with herself and Sasuke.

Sakura stopped short. _Since when did Sasuke become a part of my alone time?_

She shook her head a bit before resuming her walk. It was probably just the long hours of shifts she'd been working, Sakura thought to herself. Her mind wasn't right.

For the rest of the way, Sakura tried, though very unsuccessfully, to not think of the times she and Sasuke had spent together so far, how silent he always seemed, how he sometimes surprised her with a reply, how her heart sort of jumped at the sight of that sideways smirk on his angelic face.

Sakura sighed again. It was definitely the long hours.

* * *

><p>"TEME!"<p>

"I'm right beside you Dobe, do NOT shout." The hissed reprimand, along with the hard smack that Sasuke bestowed upon his obnoxious company, did little to alleviate Naruto's high enthusiasm.

"But look at this place!" he said grinning, "It's AWESOME!"

Although Sasuke winced at the yelled compliment, he couldn't but agree with Naruto (in his mind, ofcourse) that it was a nice place indeed. It was definitely a lot fancier than the other places they usually ate at. The interior was tastefully artistic, the table settings were elegant but homely, and unlike all the other dingy places that Naruto preferred, it was actually quite clean.

As they entered the restaurant, a young waitress came forward to greet them. Naruto hadn't made any reservations, but since the place was quite empty, she sat them at a nice spot near the corner and asked them if they wanted to place an order just then.

"We have another guest coming!" Naruto told her before Sasuke could open his mouth.

"Very well. Whenever you're ready, sir." She smiled politely and turned away, her long black hair dancing over her hips as she went back behind the counter.

"Who's coming?" Sasuke asked as he hung his jacket over the chair and sat down. He was wearing a black sweat shirt underneath.

Naruto, too busy ogling the hot waitress, said absently, "Dude I love this place." And that earned him another smack on the head from his sulky best friend.

"What the hell Teme you frea-" the indignant blonde didn't get to finish the curse as the answer to Sasuke's question walked in the door.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto got on his feet to engulf Sakura in a bear hug which seemed to both surprise and please her.

"Boy, don't you look happy today." She said as Naruto released her. She smiled briefly at Sasuke, a bit bummed at the way her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his face.

Sasuke nodded curtly. _Boy, don't you look friendly. _Sakura grimaced inwardly.

"You said you had some surprise, Naruto?" she asked, rubbing her arms. It was getting colder. She should've dropped in at the hostel to get a sweater.

"Hell yeah I do!" it was clearly taking a lot for Naruto to hold in the big news. "And you're both gonna be surprised, trust me!"

Sakura stole a glance at Sasuke, inwardly disappointed. Clearly, it wasn't the news she had expected.

Which struck her with the obvious question.

"Stop being a dramaqueen and just tell us the news, Dobe." Sasuke said in a bored voice.

"I've been offered a job at the Rasengan Group of Industries!"

There was a moment of silence before Sakura registered what Naruto had just said and her face lit up in a smile.

"Wow. . . Naruto. . Congratulations!" she reached over to pat his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you!"

Naruto grinned at her and then turned to Sasuke, who hadn't so much as raised an eyebrow to his best friend's big news.

"What, teme? Too surprised to talk?" Naruto asked him, still grinning.

"No. I knew it." Sasuke replied in the same lazy voice as before.

"Aww. . . you always knew I'd make it, didn't ya? You're such a great friend!" the beaming blonde reached over to pat his friend but got his hand smacked away halfway.

"I'm _just _a light sleeper who happened to hear your excited whispers when you were telling your father about the offer last night." Sasuke said, now a bit smug.

But to his confusion, Naruto seemed smug too.

"You only heard the offer then, not the 'details', teme! The newscast isn't over yet! I got an even better surprise."

Sasuke merely shrugged before muttering, "Anything's better than this drama."

"What's greater than a job offer at the biggest farm in Konoha?" Sakura was, once again, befuddled.

"Well. . the person _owning _it. Or in other words, the person I'm gonna be an assistant to." Naruto's arrogant smirk would have done Sasuke proud, hadn't he been so busy comprehending what the dobe had just said.

This time also, Sakura was the one to break the silence.

"Wait a minute. . . do you mean. .?" she looked questioningly at Naruto, who only nodded.

Sakura shrieked loud enough for Sasuke to wince, and the next thing he saw was Sakura reaching over the table to give Naruto a hug, both their faces gleaming with joy.

"Naruto! You're gonna be working under Jiraiya!" she finally said as he released her.

"Hell Yeah! I'm gonna be assistant to the biggest business tycoon in the country!" Naruto exclaimed, then turned yet again to his best friend.

Sasuke smirked at the beaming blonde before punching him on the arm, which Naruto returned, the trademark grin on back his whiskered face.

A little jealous by the simple, wordless exchange between the two men, Sakura asked the questions bubbling up inside her.

"But how did this happen? I thought your finals were still on the run? And don't they need your result to appoint you?"

Naruto waved a hand at her, "Oh screw the finals. They're gonna be over next week. The main thing important is the report I had to make last month, you know, about how we can take business to a more social level? Well my Professor Ebizu-san told me he liked my ideas a lot, so I took a chance and sent them to a couple of companies. You know, a little head start on the job hunt we'd all have to launch right after the results. I hadn't really expected any response, but guess what! Jiraiya's secretary called me to say that his boss really enjoyed my paper and that he would like to see me! So I go over there, to find out that Jiraiya's assistant had suddenly decided to take an early retirement, and he wants someone completely new to fill in for the post, aka, ME!"

Naruto stopped to take a sip of water and started again, "well obviously, it's temporary, they're gonna try me out for the next three monthes. But MAN this is HUGE!"

Sakura took a moment to gather all the information Naruto had deliverd in one breath, and then smiled encouragingly at him, "Well ofcourse it's huge. It's Jiraiya! And I'm sure you're gonna be fantastic, Naruto."

"If he doesn't give Jiraiya a heart attack with the noise and trash, that is." Sasuke put in lazily.

"Oh you're just jealous, teme. Cause you've been bested by the awesomeness of the great Uzumaki Naruto!" that earned the blonde another smack on the head, which he dodged not so successfully.

"Man all this excitement is making me so hungry. . where's the hot waitress? Oh I'm just gonna go order us some food. . " babbling to himself, Naruto got up and asked his two friends, "The usual for you guys?" and walked ahead to the counter without waiting for a reply from either. Not that he needed to. No matter where they went, Sasuke _always _got the Miso ramen and Sakura preferred the Tonkotsu.

* * *

><p>"So. You been to the park the last few days?" Sakura asked, fidgeting with the napkin.<p>

Sasuke nodded, "You been busy?"

"A lot. It's been hectic, actually." Sakura said, massaging her temples. "I haven't been able to rest much these days."

His observing eyes had surely sensed that already, but he said nothing. So Sakura spoke up again.

"So. . you haven't taken a decision yet?"

She half expected him to ignore her completely, but he nodded, almost invisibly though.

Sakura looked up at his face, trying to decipher the expression. "And it is . .?"

He looked at her, and this time the nod was obvious, accompanied by a sideways smirk, which suddenly made Sakura's stomach quiver with an uneasiness that had nothing to do with hunger.

So he actually _had _listened.

"Wow. Congrats, Sasuke." She knew she was smiling like an idiot, but she couldn't help it.

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So when do you plan to tell this to Naruto?"

"Not before he recovers from the sugar high." Sasuke snorted.

Sakura laughed. "Well. Tonight seems to be goo enough. He gave you a big news. Maybe you should give him yours." She suggested, rubbing her arms yet again. She really shouldn't have come without a sweater.

Sasuke didn't reply right away. He had taken the decision long before, but somehow. . he hadn't gotten around to tell Naruto about it. Firstly, the dobe would make a big deal out of his staying back in Sound, while they were actually supposed to go back to Konoha together, at the end of their terms. Secondly, and more importantly, Naruto would spread the news to each and every people they knew, and Sasuke wasn't yet ready for the publicity.

Although, he'd never admit, that he actually wanted to tell someone else first, someone who had helped him take the decision; just like he'd never ackknowledge the sudden sense of relief that washed over him as he told Sakura about his decision. He did, however, admit that it was a good idea to tell Naruto now.

But as Sasuke saw Naruto coming back from the counter, a bottle of shampaign in his hand and the huge grin on his face, he said absently, "I guess I should let the dobe have the moment for himself only."

Sakura was startled. She'd always known that Sasuke and Naruto were rivals, just as much as they were friends. So it was a bit of a shock to see Sasuke be so. . considerate on his friend's big night.

But it was nothing compared to the surprise she felt when Sasuke suddenly shoved his jacket towards her and said curtly, "Just put it on."

Sasuke would have noticed the sudden warmth invading a pair of green eyes, hadn't Naruto reached the table just then and yelled "Celebration time!"

And Sakura could have ignored the affection that flooded her heart, had she been able to look away from the strangely kind, beautiful young man sitting before her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm a horrible, HORRIBLE writer.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Replacements and Rearrangements

"Hey".

Sakura jumped a little as Sasuke took a seat beside her, at their usual spot on the platform.

"Hello there," she replied after a moment and gave him a casual smile; as if his voice hadn't made her heart skip a beat, or seeing that face after so many days hadn't taken her breath away.

She closed the fat book spread across her lap with a deep _thud_ before turning her face to take a good look at Sasuke. The puffiness of his eyes indicated that he had just been up from a deep slumber, but the dark circles under them suggested that it wasn't nearly long enough. He was probably overworking himself again, missing meals and sleep, spending more time in front of his computer than anywhere else.

And still, he managed to look like a greek God.

_Damn it. Not again! _ Sakura inwardly berated her thoughts.

Well. . . lately, she often found her thoughts steering towards Sasuke more than she'd like to admit. Sakura found herself wondering about Sasuke's sideways smirk everytime she saw that cute guy on the commercial smiling at the tv screen, she thought about Sasuke's jet black hair everytime she came across any brunette. . not that anyone was anywhere close to Sasuke, his hair was undeniably the silkiest and shiniest Sakura had ever seen, a fact that was both fascinating and frustrating to admit, since Sasuke definitely didn't spend as much time picking out shampoos and conditioners as Sakura had to. . and yet she had such rough hair. .

"God. What the hell does he use on that hair?"

"What?"

It was only after Sasuke's query that Sakura realized that she'd spoken that last remark out loud.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Sakura quickly hid her face behind pink bangs and reopened the fat book to look at the pages intently. "I was just thinking out loud about this thing about this disease and you know. . the symptoms and stuff. . . well! So how was your day?"

Even if Sasuke was amused by Sakura's over-enthusiasm, he said nothing about it. "Okay."

Sakura smiled, recovering from her earlier blunder, and closed the book again. "How's everything at work?

Sasuke only gave out a tired groan in reply. And once again Sakura thought,_he's adorable._

"That bad?" she asked, ignoring the butterflies waltzing in her stomach again.

"Horrible". Sasuke said before rubbing his eyes vigorously. "Kakashi is desperate to hand stuff over to me so he can get back to Konoha as soon as possible. Today is my first break in the whole month", he finished with a sigh.

"And obviously, you spent it sleeping." Sakura chuckled, before adding quickly, "and rightly so. You look like a vampire, Sasuke, and NOT the pretty ones."

"There are 'pretty' vampires?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Sakura looked away blushing, before muttering under her breath, "Not my fault you don't read novels."

Sasuke managed a smirk.

"Anyways," huffed Sakura, "seriously. What's going on with you? I haven't heard anything from you ever since Naruto left."

Another sigh. "I'm fine."

Sakura didn't know whether she should push for more. He already seemed agitated. But then . . she somehow got the feeling that he wasn't going to snap at her. Not yet, atleast. So she tried again.

"Where are you staying now? Naruto said you were about to leave the dorm last month."

"I got an apartment on rent. It's closer to the office."

"Sasuke, that's great! Why didn't you tell me?" the question slipped Sakura's mouth before she could stop it. She blushed furiously. "I mean, not that you had to. .I'm just surprised. . I thought you'd be subletting with one of your colleagues or something. ."

"I would, but I didn't have time to come out here, or your number." Sasuke said before she could ramble on any further.

"Oh." Sakura smiled and inwardly, rolled her eyes. Ofcourse, it'd be too much for Sasuke to go through the trouble of asking Naruto for her number.

"Anyhoo, Congrats!" she almost yelled. "This is big! New job, new place! Oh c'mon. Don't make that face! You should celebrate, Sasuke!"

"And I though life would be quieter with Naruto gone."

"Haha. Very funny." Sakura made a face.

After that they slipped into a comfortable silence. Sakura wondered if she should open her book again, but decided she wasn't in the mood to read anymore.

"So where's your apartment then?" she asked, hoping she wasn't coming off as nosy or anything.

"Kenji street." Sasuke replied.

"Really?" Sakura was startled. "That's like… walking distance from our hospital!"

"Yeah." Sasuke just shrugged. "I guess."

The sun had almost set. Sakura looked at the beautiful crimson sky and sighed. She'd never get bored of this view.

This time it was Sasuke who broke the silence.

"What's new with _you_?" he asked casually.

Sakura was a bit taken aback. Sasuke rarely showed any interest in _her_ life. It was always her bombarding him with all sorts of questions. But she replied just as casually.

"Well. Not much. Exams are coming up again. So I've been busy as well." She yawned. "This is actually my break in quite a long time too. Tsunade granted me the day off to collect notes and stuff. You know, to start preparing for the exam."

"Hn." Sasuke fell silent again.

Suddenly, Sakura looked at Sasuke, smiling. He looked back.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Give me your cellphone." She said, a hint of mischief in her voice.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, even more confused.

"Just give it." She told him impatiently.

"What the…" Sasuke rummaged in his jacket pocket before dropping the phone on Sakura's outstretched hand, "..here."

A few moments later Sakura returned the phone. "There. I saved my number on your phone. So form now on, whenever you have any exciting news, like getting a new apartment, you can tell me." She said before adding quickly, "If you want to, ofcourse."

Sasuke smirked, putting the phone back in his pocket. "I doubt I'll have any other exciting news anytime soon."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to be exciting really. With Naruto gone, I'm guessing you're out of friends here. And frankly…so am I." she finished with a sigh. "This is just so you can call someone in case anything comes up."

Sasuke looked at her. He could hear a sudden gloom in her voice. Somehow, he felt it didn't suit her.

Sakura remained silent as he walked her to her hostel before heading back to his apartment.

* * *

><p>Sasuke sighed as he entered his empty apartment. He liked this place. It was perfectly suited for him, with one big bedroom, a small living room, even a moderate guest room. The rent, although a little over his budget, was quite reasonable. Being on the 5th floor allowed plenty of light and air to enter, which, combined with the spaciousness of the apartment, was welcome to Sasuke after years of living in the small congested dorm room.<p>

As Sasuke entered the bedroom and fished out some pajamas from his suitcase that carried all his clothes-he hadn't had a chance to buy any furniture yet-he couldn't help but think about the dorm, or more particularly, his last few days at the dorm.

As expected, Naruto didn't take the news of Sasuke's staying in Sound lightly. He was visibly happy for his friend, when Sasuke first broke the news to him, but gradually his expression changed into one of concern.

"Teme, are you sure about this?" Naruto asked, with a serious look on his face that was so rare for him.

Sasuke took a moment's pause before replying, "Yeah. This is the best option."

"But…" Naruto hesitated for a moment. Then, choosing his words carefully, asked, "Are you really doing this because it's best for you, or because you want to avoid going home?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. He knew Naruto would ask this question, just like his own mother had. The dobe knew him all to well.

So he gave him the same reply he'd given his mom. "I'm doing this because this is the best for my career."

"What about your mother? Have you told her? Does she agree?" Naruto asked desperately.

Sasuke replied calmly again. "Yeah. She understood."

Sasuke could tell from Naruto's face that he was looking for some other way to stop Sasuke from taking the job, even though he too understood that this was too big an opportunity to let go. They weren't best and oldest friends for no reason.

But then, as if he couldn't bear to remain serious any longer, Naruto exhaled loudly and mumbled, "Fine what the hell."

Then he broke into the familiar foxy grin and punched Sasuke's shoulder. "Teme! You gonna miss your favourite buddy, aren't ya? Aww I'll miss you too!"

Sasuke replied by smacking the said favorite buddy's head, before he could hug him.

In all honesty, Sasuke was quite impressed by Naruto's response. He hadn't expected the loudmouth to give up trying to stop him so easily.

They were really growing up then, he guessed.

Naruto left for Konoha two days later, to start on his job as Jiraiya's assistant. Sasuke was finally on his own.

Sasuke was never one to long for company. He preferred being on his own rather than surrounded by people. Getting out of that noisy dorm, and into a calm, quite space on his own was actually very convenient for him. Now though, as Sasuke sat on his makeshift bed and ate ramen from the takeout container, he almost missed his loudmouth friend. The dobe's banter during dinner was endless the noise of the dorm cafeteria, but here in the silence of the big apartment that didn't seem too hard to endure.

Sasuke remembered the question again. _Are you sure about this? _

Was he really? Truth was, he still didn't know. Kakashi had faith in him, and Sasuke himself was confident about his own work. But in a couple more months he'd be on his own with a whole team to guide and no Kakashi to look over his shoulder. Was he ready for that?

Then there was the other question. _Are you doing this because you want to avoid going home?_

Wasn't he? Thw wounds he had were never to heal, but going home would just open up all the scars, and he wasn't sure he was yet strong enough to face them. On some level, wasn't this job even more tempting to him beacuse of the excuse it provided to delay going back home?

Sasuke forced the thought away from his mind before he could think any further on that. This was his new life, so he better see it through. Asking questions that he didn't want answered would get him nowhere. He better learn to cope.

* * *

><p>That night, right before going to bed, Sakura received a text from an unknown number : <em>This is my number, just in case anything comes up. Sasuke."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There's nothing I can say that will make me less accountable for being almost 2 yeas late in updating this story. I don't know if anyone still cares about this story or not, but if they do, I'm more sorry than I can express. I will finish this story. I'm not a skilled writer so I'm struggling with the plot. Pressure of studies doesn't make it easy either. Thank you for still being here.**

**R&R.**


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